As 2017 comes to an end, we’ve received a mixture of good and bad news on the farm.
The uplifting news is that our delightful Hereford cow Fuchsia is pregnant again. Earlier this year she gave birth to her first calf, Freida.
We currently have a bull visiting the farm (as he regularly does over winter) to serve the cows. Last year he fathered Freida and he’s proved his worth again.

Now, the frustrating news is that our other two cows are not pregnant.
It’s now a waiting game to see whether the bull works his magic on the other two girls, if not we will begin looking at artificial insemination.
So the news is really a mixed bag, it’s wonderful to know that we will have another birth on the farm in 2018, but it’s a world of unknown with the other two.

One of the other girls, Primrose, was on holiday this summer on the Suffolk marshes, running with another bull, so for her, this is her last chance as a breeding cow.
If this last attempt fails, we will have to sell her for meat – not the outcome anyone would want.
I’ve got everything crossed for her as she’s such a pleasant-tempered beast…